Bloodletting
by dreamingofblossoms
Summary: When two bodies are discovered simultaneously in Pasadena, Texas the team are called in to investigate. However, things don't go as planned when Reid is involved in a hit and run. Is everything as it appears to be on the surface? The clock is ticking and the bloodletting will not stop until the unsub is caught but will the team be intact at the end of the case.
1. Pasadena PD and Coroners Office

**Okay so this is my very first published Fan Fiction and it is the first time I am writing a Criminal Minds FanFic, so I'm sure you can imagine that I'm extremely nervous about posting this. I hope you don't find it too boring at first but I like to set the scene properly. Also, bear in mind that I have had to research all the medical stuff so some of it may not be correct and as for the geographical information I've used Google Maps.**

**Reviews are welcome, as long as they are constructive. **

**Unfortunately, I do not own Criminal Minds; I am just a massive fan.**

_**Chapter One**_

Chief Akton was leaning on the desk of one his Detectives when something caught his eye. He stood up and observed the group of people that walked through the door. The tall dark haired man who was at the front was obviously their leader. He oozed respect as he strode confidently forward. The older man who stood next to him was more at ease with himself, more self-assured and walked casually. His eye landed upon the only females in the group, one blonde and one brunette. Just with one cursory glance at the brunette told Akton one thing that he would surely keep in mind, do not get on the wrong side of her. The blonde haired women had more kindness to her but he guessed that if ruffled that look would soon disappear from her face. However, at this moment in time a small smile graced her lips as she shared a few comments with the dark skinned man. Akton assumed that this man was the muscle of the group and could obviously handle himself in almost any situation. The same couldn't be said for the last male of the group who trailed slightly behind at the back. He was gangly and looked as if he'd be extremely clumsy. He was the only one that had looked around the department, as he was doing now and appeared to be taking in as much information as he could. Akton strode forward to greet his guests.

"Agent Hotchner." He smiled as he held out his hand. Hotch took it and shook firmly. "Thank you for coming with such short notice."

"It's not a problem." Hotch replied. "Chief Akton this is SSA Rossi, SSA Prentiss, SSA Jureau, SSA Morgan and SSA Dr. Reid." Gesturing to each of his team in turn.

The chief shook Rossi's hand and nodded to each of the other members who nodded back to him apart from Dr. Reid who smiled and gave an awkward wave. "I've had our conference room set up with a couple of boards and the case files as you requested."

"Thank you. Reid why don't you go ahead and start setting up." Hotch spoke to the youngest agent who gave a quick nod of his head and made his way toward the back, where he saw that the meeting room door was already open for them. "Rossi, I want you and Morgan to go to each of the crime scenes and see if you can get any extra insight there. JJ, you and Prentiss go to the Coroner's office and try and gather as much information you can about how exactly the victims died. I'll stay here and help Reid get started with the geographical profile." He turned to Akton. "Chief I would be grateful if you could go to the crime scenes also. You're familiar with the land and its history so hopefully that will help us gain some extra insight."

"Of course." The Chief agreed; glad to be finally doing something. The hours he had spent since the initial discovery of the bodies had been completely fruitless.

Hotch watched them leave and then entered the room he had seen Reid go to. He wasn't surprised to see that all of the crime scene photos they had received on the plane were now perfectly ordered on one of the white boards. Each of the two victims had the names of the dump sites and the time they were located underneath. Two manila folders lay open on the desk.

"Whilst we were in the air they managed to get an I.D on the two victims." Reid informed Hotch, looking down at the folders before turning back to the board and writing down their names under their respective photos.

Hotch picked up one of the files and looked down at the image of the first victim, a man by the name of Steven Jones. He was well built man, in his late thirties, who had light brown hair and green eyes. The photo showed him smiling with his arm around someone, who Hotch guessed was his partner, at a garden party. The next folder held a photo of a man who had a balding grey head and equally grey eyes. It was a professional portrait that showed the man smiling jovially at the viewer. Hotch looked down at the man's name. Martin Bates. "They killed a vicar?" He asked disbelievingly, not expecting an answer.

"He was a Pastor to be exact." He corrected. "Unfortunately, religion doesn't grant one a safe passage through life." Reid mused.

For a split second Hotch looked at Reid and then decided to change the subject. "Have their families been informed?"

"I think Mr Jones' has." He looked at the board in thought and then turned to Hotch. "The Vicar didn't have any surviving family to inform. This is what I don't get. So far the victims have nothing in common. They have no similar features, one being well built whilst the other was a somewhat frail man. They have completely different jobs, a lawyer and a vicar. One has a family and one doesn't. I can't see any connecting tissue here." He threw up his hands in exasperation.

"There has to be something. There always is." Hotch replied, leaning on the table and punching an all too familiar number into the conference phone.

After only one ring it connected. "You've reached the master of all things technological." Garcia's chirpy voice came.

"Garcia, I want you to run the names of the victims and dig up as much information as you can on them." Hotch began.

"Straight to the point Agent Hotchner, I like it."

Reid smiled and Hotch did too, if only a little. "Okay, their names are Steven Jones and Martin Bates."

"Got it." She beamed. "I'll leave no rock unturned. Speak to you soon my doves."

…...

Approximately twenty minutes later Emily and JJ pulled up in front of the Coroner's office. Emily switched off the engine while JJ gave a bone cracking yawn. "Yawning already." She stated. "Not a good sign. I have a feeling today's going to be a long one."

"You never know JJ we could get back to the station and the unsub has decided to hand themselves in." Prentiss chuckled knowing that the likelihood of that suggestion was about as certain as pigs flying. _Pigs have a higher chance of flying_, she thought to herself.

"Yeah, right." JJ laughed and they both got out of the car.

Inside they were led to one of the autopsy rooms where both of the victims lay. The medical examiner stood before them, a large man in his early sixties. If it had not been for the almost freezing air of the room they women were sure this man would have been profusely sweating, in fact the yellowing patches of white cloth of his shirt told them as much. Prentiss didn't particularly like being the one to talk to the medical examiners. They always had the air of indifference about them, whether when dealing with the corpses themselves or agents like her. It worried her that she would come across the same, emotionless and hard faced but in a job like this it was hard not to be anything else. She shook off these thoughts and began the questioning.

"The victims were found at around 06:15 this morning." She said aloud, refreshing everyone's memory. "How long had they been dead before that?" She directed at the doctor.

"As exsanguination was the method of choice it was impossible to tell both of their livor mortis, which is the pooling of blood, usually underneath the body when it has rested it in one place." The man explained to them in a pompous manner.

JJ smirked at Emily. They had met countless men like this man who thought that just because they were women they didn't understand medical terminology. "Oh really?" She exclaimed feigning ignorance. This made the doctor smile and nod his head confidently at her. Just behind his back Emily's face split into a huge smile which she hid when the man turned back around a second later.

The man held out his hand and motioned toward one of the victims, a large man with light brown hair. "Putrefaction had begun on this cadaver, which indicated that he had been dead for two to three days. The abdomen has only just started to stain green. However, I would guess that the estimate of time of death was around four to five days ago." He moved over to the second victim. "Now this one was the most recent kill. He died about two days ago. His corneas have completely clouded over but have not started to bulge. Putrefaction has been significantly slowed down on the bodies, as it hasn't begun to show on this one at all, which suggests that they were kept in a cool place after death and hence the later time of death for victim number one. If they had been kept anywhere near the outside world or without proper cooling they would have putrefied a hell of a lot quicker with this heat wave we are having at the moment."

"So could they have been kept in a freezer until the unsub decided to dispose of them?" Prentiss asked whilst jotting down what the doctor had told her in a small notebook.

"No, no." The man shook his head as if the question was wholly uncalled for. "Freezing the body and then allowing it to thaw would have caused the blood cells to burst and I found no evidence of this. Also, it would have completely stopped the putrefaction process completely and it has shown itself in the first victim. No, these men were most likely kept in a space that was chilled using an air conditioning unit."

"What do the wounds tell us?" JJ asked tersely, quickly growing tired of this man's attitude. _Emily has the patience of a saint_, she thought quickly.

"Victim number two is the interesting one." He indicated the smaller of the two men. "He has small puncture wounds in various parts of the body. The slice to the neck is what finished them both off. Whoever they are severed both the exterior jugular vein and the exterior carotid artery. Both of them also had a non-significant laceration to the right forearm, horizontal just under the crease of the elbow."

"What's the significance of the other wounds?" JJ pressed. The doctor's voice suggested that there was more to be said about the injuries.

"The puncture wounds are hesitant. As though the attacker was searching for significant arteries and veins, and it appears as though he really dug around in there. The edges are rough and jagged compared to the wound on the neck which is completely smooth and done with one quick movement. It was done with a thin, non-serrated blade. The wounds on the neck are deep on the one side and taper off to quite a shallow depth on the opposite side."

Prentiss nodded her head, already adding information to the unsub knowledge pool. "Is there anything else we should know?"

"Yes." The man nodded clasping his hands behind his back. "Upon examining the contents of their stomachs it is clear that they both died within four to six hours of their last meal."

Emily and JJ gave their thanks and left. Once outside, they both discussed how odious they both found the medical examiner but once they were back on the road they discussed the outcome of their visit and the possibilities it unleashed.

**Note: Any mistakes with spelling and grammar I have tried to wheedle out but a few may have gotten through the net.**

**I will try and update as often as I can. Well, that is if you like it. **

**THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ THIS. I APPRECIATE THIS GREATLY. **


	2. Sherwood Park

_**Chapter Two**_

Pulling up to the crime scene Morgan sighed. As the day had worn on the sun was beginning to reach its peak in the sky. According to Chief Akton they were in the middle of a heat wave and it was only a fraction of a degree off the highest recorded temperature in Pasadena's history. In 1962 it had reached 106⁰ Fahrenheit, today it was 104⁰. Turning off the air conditioning and stepping outside was not an inviting idea to any of the occupants of the suburban. However, inspection of the second dump site could not wait. He switched off the engine which in turn immediately cut off the cold flow of air. Before stepping out he placed his aviator sunglasses firmly on his nose.

"Cheer up Morgan. This shouldn't take long at all." Rossi chuckled as he made his way around the car to join his colleague.

"It better not." He mumbled. Normally he wouldn't be so downbeat but there was something about this case that seemed a little off. They had all been woken at half six that morning by a tired sounding Hotch, calling them in for an urgent case. Morgan had groaned as soon as he had laid his eyes on the caller ID. He had only arrived home seven hours earlier from their previous case. He certainly didn't feel recharged enough for the next one but that is what the job entailed. When he had arrived at the BAU offices half an hour later he saw that he wasn't the only one that didn't feel one hundred percent. Out of all of them Reid looked the freshest, although he always seemed to operate on less sleep than the others.

As they moved forward Rossi thought back to the plane journey. He had sat yawning when JJ brought over the pre prepared manila folders that held the grizzly details of their urgent case. Two male bodies had been found in the city of Pasadena, within a ten minute of window of each other. This may not have seemed to have warranted the attention of the behavioural analysis unit had the victims not been killed in exactly the same way. Exsanguination. Rossi shuddered. He hoped he would never know what it would feel like to have your blood drain away from you. The bodies had been found by two separate police patrols and when Chief Akton became aware of the similarities of the kills he had immediately got into contact with Hotch. As soon as that call had ended the team had been informed. Approximately four hours later they had made their appearance at the Pasadena Police Department.

"Another park?" Rossi rhetorically asked. He marvelled at the unsub's audacity. They had dumped the bodies in very public places where an unsuspecting person could just happen upon them mid act.

"Is there any significant historical link with this site Chief?" Asked Morgan. There hadn't been with the last site but he had to ask just in case.

"There isn't I'm afraid." Chief Akton sighed. "However, this site is located just over half a mile from where the victim worked."

Rossi frowned. "Who and where was that?"

"Martin Bates. He worked at the Southern Congregational Methodist Church over on Austin Avenue." He informed them.

"Was he the…?" Rossi began.

"The Pastor, yeah he was." The chief became visibly upset. "He was a great man."

"Sorry for your loss." Morgan said in condolence. The chief thanked him. "Could this have a religious theme Rossi?"

"It could do. We can't know for sure until we find out more about the first victim. If Mr Jones has no connection to religion then it could be that the link itself lies with the unsub." Rossi concluded.

"I hope that's not the case." Morgan muttered under his breath, thinking about Tobias Hankel.

"Why would you say that?" Rossi asked innocently, completely in the dark about past events.

"Oh, just we've had our fair share of religious nut jobs and they tend to be more sadistic than the usual unsub." Morgan covered himself quickly before walking off to the exact location the body had been found.

_I'll enquire about that with Hotch later_, Rossi made a mental note.

Sherwood Park was miniscule compared to the previous dump site. It contained a grassed area that was as big a Morgan's front garden with an oval of sand in its centre. Within the oval stood a metal jungle gym, consisting of two slides and a raised gazebo. Morgan pulled out his cell phone and reviewed the crime scene photos. The body of the pastor had been found inside of the gazebo itself. He was laid on his back and hung of the edge, his arms splayed outwards in an upside down crucifix position. He passed the cell to Rossi so he could go through the same process.

"Ok, so I'm the unsub." Morgan stood with his hand on his hip, the other scratching his temple as he thought. He was usually the one who went through this sequence and today had been no different. He had already done it once that day. He looked around scanning the area. "I use the same vehicle as the last drop off. There's no reason to change it. I pull into the parking lot. I've got to be quiet as there is more chance of someone surprising me." He stated indicating the residential housing opposite. "It would make more sense to back into the lot, especially if I've transported the body in the boot or the back of a van. I drag him out and position him on the jungle gym. Depending where I've parked and the vehicle I've used I could have been completely hidden from view."

"There's only one way to find out kid." Rossi said putting his hands in his pockets and already making his way over the road to the houses opposite. "You coming Chief?"

"Sure."

Rossi firstly went to the house directly in line with the jungle gym and knocked firmly on the door, twice. They waited. It was approaching the thirty second mark and Rossi had brought his hand up to knock again when the door was wrenched open. A middle aged, dumpy man in a crumpled suit stood before them. He looked straight to the Chief.

"Chief Akton, how can I help you?" The man asked with surprise.

"This is Agent Rossi from the Behavioural Analysis Unit of the FBI." Rossi flashed his credentials. "He'd like to ask you a few questions about an incident that occurred in the park this morning."

"Oh, you mean the body they found." The man dragged the first word out. "I was wondering when someone was going to come and start asking questions."

"Right, so Mr…?"

"Jenkins."

"Mr Jenkins. Did you notice anything peculiar in the neighbourhood this morning?" Rossi asked. "Any strange noises, cars or even people who aren't from around these parts?"

"To be honest I haven't noticed anything. I work the late shift and when I'm out I could sleep through an earthquake. The first thing I know is sirens blazing and when I look out the window I see the CSI's doing their thing." Mr Jenkins was beginning to ramble and the men weren't in the mood to hear someone go off on a tangent.

"Thank you Mr Jenkins." Rossi forced a smile and pulled out one of his contact cards from his jacket pocket. "If you remember anything, no matter how small please get in contact. We may also have to come back and ask you more questions as the investigation progresses."

Mr Jenkins took the card and before he had a chance to reply Rossi had already turned his back and began to make his way to the next house. Chief Akton smiled in apology and made his own way to join the Italian man. "You know, manners go a long way round here."

"That man doesn't know a thing and he won't remember anything useful. I don't see the point of wasting our time exploring fruitless avenues." He explained with a smile.

"Ah, this next house belongs to one of my men, Josh Anderson." Rossi looked at him out of the corner of his eyes. "In fact, he was one of the men who were out on patrol when the calls came. He was quite distressed on the radio, until he found out that the body in the park was that of a male."

"Why so? Does he live with his mother or wife?" Rossi enquired.

"His girlfriend. I believe her name is Elle Verde." The Chief informed. "Let's hope she yields more information than the last house."

It took less than a minute to walk from the Jenkins house to the house of Officer Anderson. Rossi took it upon himself to knock on the door again. Almost immediately a friendly sounding female voice spoke. "Just a moment." The door opened to reveal a pretty, brunette women in her late twenties half bending down to pull on her other shoe. She appeared to be late for work. "Yes?" She spoke to Rossi but then her eyes fell onto Chief Akton. Her smile fell and became serious. "Please tell me Josh is okay?"

"He is fine Miss Verde." The Chief assured her, he never got used to hearing someone's panic for a loved one. "We're here about a body that was found in the park this morning. Agent Rossi would just like to ask a few questions."

"Please come in." Her tones becoming normal once more. She pulled on her shoe and stood aside to let the two men in. She directed them toward the front room where they took a seat on the sofa. "Can I get you a drink?"

"That's not necessary but thank you." Rossi remembered what the Chief had said about manners.

Elle moved to stand in front of them rather than sitting. "I'm glad you came actually. I was going to mention it when Josh got off shift."

"So you noticed something this morning?" Rossi perked up at the prospect of actually getting some useful information.

"Yeah I did. To anyone else it might have just seemed normal but when you're with a cop you start taking notice of anything and everything." Rossi chuckled. Elle walked over to a cabinet by the entrance where she produced a small leather bound notebook. "I even wrote it down. You don't know how many times I've had Josh telling me that over time the mind degrades the quality of information. _That's why if anything ever happens Elle; write it down or call it is as soon as you can_." She imitated his voice.

"A smart fella you have there." Rossi smiled.

"Thank you." She flipped to the right page. "Okay so at exactly 6:20 this morning I was woken by the sound of an engine cutting off. When I looked out of the window it was still dark out but I did manage to get a look at the source of the noise. Parked in the lot was a dark Ford FX2 truck. My dad's enthusiasm of cars seems to have rubbed off on me. I noticed the trailer bed was covered with a lighter coloured tarp. I kept watch for a minute or so and no one got out. Before I went back to sleep I wrote down the plate number."

"You sound like a professional." The chief commented.

"I don't know if I'll take that as a compliment. No, I think I'll stick to marketing Chief." She looked down at her watch. "Talking of which I am super late already."

Rossi stood. "Thank you for your time Miss Verde. I just wish all of the people we question would have to foresight to check things out. Would you mind if I keep that notebook? I'll have it returned as soon as the case is finished."

"Of course not. Here you go." She handed over the book and led them out grabbing her back before she shut and locked the door. She waved them goodbye as she pulled out of the drive. Rossi and Chief Akton questioned a couple more locals before heading back to join Morgan. So far the only information had come from one source.

"Have you got anything else?" The Italian asked Morgan.

"Not a penny." He sighed. "What about you?"

"Yep. I'll update you on the drive back" Rossi replied waving the little red notebook.

"Good. Let's see how successful the others have been.6" Morgan said eagerly wanting to get cool once more. He wiped the beads of sweat off of his forehead and almost dashed back to the vehicle.

_**Notes: Thank you so much to all of you who have read, favourited and followed this story. It means a great deal to me. A special thank you to AliceReidCaffrey26 who gave me my very first review, your words are too kind.**_

_**Again I hope this wasn't too boring and I also seem to be getting longer chapters. The next chapter will be when the action starts happening. **_

_**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Criminal Minds, sadly.**_

_**Review if you want, it would be appreciated. **_


	3. Calling it a Day

_**Chapter Three**_

Morgan and Rossi, along with Chief Akton entered the meeting room to see that Emily and JJ had already made it back from their visit to the ME. The three of them sat down around the large rectangular table which occupied the centre of the room. Reid looked up from the file he was studying to see Morgan wafting cool air onto his face, sweat beading Rossi's forehead and the Chief looking a little damp. "It could be worse." He commented.

"What do you mean?" Prentiss enquired.

"The heat. The highe…"

"Kid!" Morgan said loudly. Reid looked a little dejected at his flow of information being halted. "I know what you're going to say. The highest recorded temperature of Pasadena was a scorching 106⁰ in 1962. However, today it is only 104⁰."

A deep frown creased the youngest team member's brow. "But how could you possibly know that?"

Morgan chuckled, had it been anyone else apart from Dr. Spencer Reid he may have been a little offended but as it was he knew his friend too well to take that comment to heart. "The chief beat you to it."

"Oh." It was all he could say before the ringing of the phone interrupted him. He reached forwards and pressed the answer button. "Hey Garcia, you're on speaker."

"Well don't I have bundles of information for you my darling crime fighters." She almost sang.

"What you got for us baby girl?" Morgan smiled. Chief Akton was left wondering how he should act in this situation. Never before had he met a team who interacted in such a way. He decided the best course of action was to say nothing at all unless it was completely necessary.

"Ok so victim number one by the name of Steven Jones, 38, has lived in Pasadena for the last twenty eight years. His parents relocated here from Eau Claire, Wisconsin when he was only 10. He met his wife at the University of Houston where they both studied law. She dropped out after the first year to pursue a career to become a chiropractor. He completed his course with top marks and then he became one of the youngest men to have owned his own firm. His financial records are squeaky clean." To the untrained ear it would have sounded like she had just rattled all of that information off in one breath. "Now Mr Bates is somewhat different. He was sixty years old with no surviving family. His brother died five years ago in a road collision. Mr Bates was born in Pasadena and lived in the same house all of his life. He became the Pastor of the Southern Congregational Methodist Church almost twenty five years ago. His financial dabbling's were that of the regular working class American."

"So we're no closer to finding a link between the victims." JJ sighed.

"Ah, you speak too soon my fair JJ. When I realised that there wasn't a pattern I began to dig a little deeper and I discovered some very icky skeletons in their closets." The team shared a knowing glance. They suspected what was coming. "They were both accused of crimes and had them expunged from their records."

"Did you know anything about this chief?" Rossi asked pointedly, he would hate to find that the Chief had deliberately left out any details of the case.

"No. I had no idea. I was transferred here five years ago from Arlington. The first time I knew of these men was when I saw their corpses at the dump sites." The Chief explained and cursed his own stupidity. "I didn't think to run a criminal background check on a _victim_."

"That's alright sir." Garcia's voice floated out once more. "That's why I'm here, well not physically at least, but I can catch anything that slips through the net."

"What were their crimes?" Hotch asked wanting to get the conversation back on track.

"Right. Before Pastor Bates became just that he had too much to drink on a night out with friends. He got in his car and knocked over a little girl. He got off on a technicality under that stature of limitations. Apparently, he had an epiphany which told him to say goodbye to his old ways and just like that he was a born again Christian. When he joined the church that particular entry on his record vanished. Mr Jones instigated his own slate to be wiped. About two years ago he was accused of rape by his personal assistant. She dropped the case before it even reached the courts."

"Thanks Garcia. That's all for now." Hotch ended the call.

"So we have another self-appointed vigilante. Great." JJ sighed.

"Could this have a religious aspect?" Morgan broached the subject carefully.

"What makes you ask that?" Prentiss questioned, frowning slightly.

"The killing of a Pastor is quite poignant, especially considering that he was killed less than a mile away from his place of worship. There was also the placement of the body."

"I highly doubt this has anything to do with religion Morgan." Reid spoke and everyone turned their eyes upon him which made him glance down nervously. "Had the unsub wanted to preach about religion they would have most likely have hung his body from the bars of the jungle gym in a typical crucifixion pose. In most cultures an upside down cross is considered to be a sign of the anti-Christ, which would therefore be contradictory. I think this has more to do with a final humiliation. After all when we take in to account that Stephen Jones was found stripped of his clothing it makes more sense considering what his crime was."

The team nodded in understanding. The information had slotted into place nicely and left hardly any room for deviation. "What did you get from the crime scenes?" Hotch requested.

Morgan went first. "Both victims were dumped in parks. Steven Jones was located in Golden Acres Park which is around 3.2 miles away from this police department. The park itself is a fair size and the nearest house is far enough away for them not to hear the engine of a car. Martin Bates was dumped in Sherwood Park which is only 1.2 miles away. This area was significantly smaller than Golden Acres and was directly opposite housing. I noticed that at the back of the park was another residential area, with only a large house on the land. However, that too was also far enough away. I asked anyway and the owners couldn't give me anything." He finished his segment by informing them of his theory of how the unsub could have gotten the body from the vehicle.

Rossi took his cue and retold everything Elle Verde had told him. They called Garcia to run a check on the plate number and she replied a split second later with some unfortunate news. "I got bubkiss, the plate's a fake. As for the make and model of the car, it's still too broad, even with my excellent abilities. If you can come back to me with the profession of the unsub I could narrow it down a lot but until then I can't help."

"Garcia can you get us a list of clients that Mr Jones dealt with personally?" Hotch asked and just as he finished his sentence the bubbly technical analyst informed him that she had completed the task and had emailed the list to his phone. "Thanks Garcia. Chief if you could get some of your men to start making their way through the list and try to figure out if Mr Jones had any disgruntled clients that would be a massive help."

Chief Akton obliged the request enthusiastically. Whilst Hotch sent the file to print Prentiss and JJ added the information from their visit to the mix. Once the list had printed the Chief left the room to get the task started as a matter of urgency.

"So the unsub is literally draining the life away from them." Rossi pondered.

"Could the act of killing them this way be a sexual release for the unsub?" Morgan asked.

"We can't know for sure but it seems unlikely. The ME said there wasn't a scrap of DNA on the body." Prentiss added.

"Just you're regular sadist then." Rossi commented and the others laughed at the dark joke.

"The unsub is most likely male." Hotch spoke as he took his seat once more. "Women tend to be more gentle with their kills, preferring to use poison or asphyxiation. If he isn't killing for sexual release then it must be something more to do with a sense of power that comes with ending a life."

"He's a cocky son of a bitch, I'll give him that." Rossi snorted. "Dumping them in parks would ensure that his victims are found."

"In the late eighteen hundreds vigilantes used to hang their victims along the side of highways or from bridges as a warning of what their justice entailed." Reid rambled. "Of course some of their crimes wouldn't necessarily have warranted a death penalty these days. Most of them were cattle thieves."

"Why hasn't he claimed them yet? If he is a vigilante surely he would want recognition for his retribution." JJ chimed.

"I suppose that part is a waiting game." Emily suggested.

From that point on the continued to work furiously with the information that they had. Morgan and Prentiss left the station at around two o'clock to interview the family of Mr Jones. They had to ascertain his time of disappearance so they could determine how often their unsub struck. The slightly trickier task of gathering that information about Pastor Bates fell to Hotch who left not long after in his suburban. Reid was left in the meeting room with the various crime scene photos and geographical map to see whether he could figure out any more occurring patterns. Rossi and JJ got working on what was left of the list Garcia had sent them.

When the clock struck four Reid stood abruptly in the meeting room. He frowned as he glanced down at the photograph in his hands, showing the various puncture wounds littering the pastor's chest. He had a hunch as to what those marks represented but he needed more information to be sure. He pulled on his blazer, slung his satchel over his shoulder and left the room with a brisk walk.

"Hey Spence, where are you going?" JJ called from a desk to his right.

"I've got a theory on something but I need to get a couple of facts right before I can confirm it with the rest of the team. I'm just going to the library across the street." He span on the spot but continued to walk backwards as he explained his departure.

"What's this blasphemy?" Rossi smirked next to her. "Boy genius doesn't know something."

Reid just smiled as he turned back around and he could still hear his two colleagues laughing at the joke as he made his way back out of the glass doors. It was quite fortunate that the public library was situated only a stone's throw away from the police department as Reid much preferred to quickly scan the pages of a book rather than to rely upon the unknown author of information that resided on the internet. The average person may not mind searching sites the likes of Wikipedia for half-truths but Reid needed information he sought to be correct if he was to succeed in his endeavour.

Five minutes later he found himself in front of one of the libraries almost prehistoric computers. Without sitting down he quickly searched a couple of keywords that brought up 37 different books that held information on the subject. Using his incredibly fast reading ability he scanned the entire list and picked out the reference numbers of the books that were the most relevant. Having become familiar with the Dewey decimal classification system when he was five years old it took him mere minutes to find the correct shelf and then the correct books. In total he pulled out ten dusty hardbacks and set them on one of the tables provided. He decided to start with the thickest book first. He opened its cover, turned to the correct page and placed his finger on the first line before he began to read. He made steady progress and was only interrupted every now and again by an infectious yawn.

_**Four hours later … **_

"Excuse me?" A small male voice shook Reid from his slumber. He raised his head from the tenth book and looked toward the elderly man with bleary eyes. "Sir? We're closing early tonight."

"Right, okay, sorry." He said in quick succession. The man shuffled off and Reid rubbed his eyes as he looked down at his wristwatch. It was 7:30 pm. He jumped up, berating himself for falling asleep, grabbing the books and hastily putting them back in their correct places. He shuddered as he stepped outside. The sun had set which had caused the path he now walked along to be bathed in shadows. Not liking the inherent absence of light he moved quickly forward back toward the police department. His hunch had been proven correct and he needed to inform the team of his theory. He reached the car park, noticing that the street lights were not functioning, when his phone began to ring. He jumped in fright and laughed despite himself. He dug around in his bag as he moved across the empty lot and pulled out his glowing phone. He pressed answer.

"Yeah?" He said

"Hey, pretty boy. When are you deciding on joining us?" Derek's voice jokingly asked as Spencer looked right and left as he continued on his way. "No, seriously kid. We're calling it quits for the night."

"It's ok. I'm heading back now but I have someth…" A huge force collided with Reid and he was sent spinning into the air. He connected with the asphalt painfully. Struggling to see he could just about make out the plate number of the car that sped off from the scene. Darkness was closing in fast as he reached out for his phone. "Mor..gan."

_**Ohhh a cliff-hanger…**_

_**Okay so this isn't as action packed as some of you had hoped I bet but it is full of suspense. Also, for some reason this chapter was extremely hard to write and it has stressed me out but I'm glad it is finally finished.**_

_**I have some of the next chapter already written so if I can finish it I will hopefully upload it tomorrow night. **_

_**Thank you tannerose5 for your reviews. They were greatly appreciated and so were the follows and favourites. **_


	4. Collision

_**Hi everyone HAPPY NEW YEAR! Sorry I haven't updated this in a little while. Life kind of got in the way. I started my new job which is good but it meant I've had to wait until now to update. I hope you don't mind. Also thank you for the reviews and new follows and faves. **_

_**Constructive reviews are welcome =D **_

_**Chapter Four**_

Derek leant back against the chair, stretching his arms out as he did so. It had been a long day and they had gotten practically nothing from it. Sure, they had concrete evidence of how the victims had died, who the victims were and their apparent link but interviewing the Jones family had been difficult. Mrs Jones had understandably been upset when he, along with Prentiss had turned up on the porch of her very expensive mansion. She had been cooperative at first, informing them of her husband's last movements, but when they pressed her for details pertaining to the alleged rape she had closed off completely. It had taken Prentiss all afternoon to get her to reopen her gates of information, whilst he hovered in the background not wanting to cause any harm to the rapport that had been built between the two women. Yawning, he looked up to see Hotch closing his file.

"I think that's all we can do for tonight." He commented rubbing his brow. "We've been on this for almost twelve hours straight. Get some rest and we'll look at this again in the morning with fresh eyes. Can one of you go and inform Reid?"

"Where is Reid?" Emily asked.

"He went to the library quite a while ago. He said he had something to check out." JJ replied, closing her file.

"I'll call him." Morgan volunteered. He pulled out his cell phone and hit the speed dial button that he had assigned for the young profiler.

"Yeah?" Came the other man's voice.

"Hey, pretty boy. When are you deciding on joining us?" He joked. Teasing Reid, or anyone else for that matter, was his favourite pass time. "No seriously kid. We're calling it quits for the night."

"It's ok. I'm heading back now but I have someth…" Suddenly he stopped talking.

Morgan ripped the phone away from his ear briefly as it sounded like it had been hit with a sledge hammer. He frowned. "Kid?" He asked urgently. The other members of the BAU looked to him. "Reid?!" He heard what sounded like a car speeding off somewhere in the distance.

"Mor..gan." A pained voice struggled to put the name together.

Derek was already rushing out of the federal building before the last syllable had been spoken. Fear pumped through his heart as his mind frantically put all the bits of information together. It wasn't good. That much he knew. He burst out of the entrance and span on the spot to look over to the public library's parking lot. A stone planted itself firmly in his stomach as he spotted a dark mound in the middle of the road. It wasn't moving. He launched himself down the sloping white ramp and covered the distance in the matter of seconds but it felt more like a lifetime.

"Aw no, no no." He muttered as he knelt down next to the mound and its features came into sharp relief. Spencer lay on his side, his cell phone hung loosely in his hand, and he was deathly still. He moved around so he was directly facing his friend and gently moved the tangle of light brown hair away from his face to reveal quite a large laceration on his forehead. It seemed like a fountain of blood was pouring from it. He began to reach forward to move him onto his back when his shoulder was jerked away. He looked up to see Emily behind him.

"Don't move him Morgan." She said. The team had only been a couple of metres behind him the whole time and yet he hadn't heard them. He got up and stood by Emily's side as Rossi bent down to check for a pulse, something Morgan had failed to do in his shock. He could hear Hotch, not too far away demanding an ambulance. JJ walked a short distance and picked up the fallen satchel, clutching it to her chest.

"He's got a fairly strong pulse." Rossi said, trying to sound optimistic, as he took off his jacket it and laid it over Spencer's form.

"The medics shouldn't be much longer." Hotch commented looking down at his stricken team member.

It took exactly four minutes for the ambulance to arrive. It's excessively loud sirens had made the team aware of its presence long before they had laid eyes on the red striped, white vehicle. The sirens were cut as it came to a stop not too far way, however the red and white lights continued to flash lighting up the scene before them in horrific detail. Two men in the familiar light blue shirts got out of either side. One of the men already had a red bag slung over his shoulder and made his way over to Spencer. The other paramedic made his way around the vehicle and opened up its back to pull out a spinal board and neck collar.

"Excuse me sir." The first man said to Morgan, who had went back to Reid as soon as Rossi moved aside. Morgan moved and looked at the man's name badge. Gerard Davies. "I understand your friend was hit by a car?" Morgan nodded. "Do you know the speed of the vehicle?" He shook his head. "That's alright. What's your friend's name?"

"Erm it's Spencer. Spencer Reid." He said numbly.

Before he could use this information he was joined by the other medic, a man by the name of James Thornton, who removed the jacket and handed it back to Rossi. Together they worked swiftly as a team to secure the neck brace and then slowly and carefully lowered Reid onto his back, ensuring that no movement of his spine occurred. Without a scan it would be negligent to rule out a spinal injury. James grabbed the bag and begun to rummage around in it whilst Gerard took out his pen light. He moved up by Reid's head, moving the rest of his hair from his face before pulling each eyelid up and quickly moving the white light in front of the exposed eye. "Spencer?" Gerard said loudly. "Spencer, can you hear me?" He got no response. "His pupils are responsive."

James pulled out a small tank of oxygen, fitted a clear tube to the nozzle and carefully pulled the green strap over Reid's head whilst positioning the mask over his nose and mouth. It misted slightly. The medic then busied himself with tightening a tourniquet around his patient's thin arm, tapping at the thin skin above the elbow until a vein showed itself. Having already opened the cannula he pulled it carefully out of its packaging and inserted it into the exposed vein. He connected up a bag of saline to the port and spun the wheel to open it up. He closed both hands around the bag to _push_ the fluids through as quickly as was possible.

Gerard had taped a wad of gauze to the still bleeding head injury and now had his stethoscope pushed firmly into his ears. He pressed it against Spencer's chest and listened closely and then moved it over to his heart. At this point he looked down at his watch to measure the beats per minute. It was then that his demeanour changed, if only slightly but it was enough for the team of profilers to take note. "Pulse is weak and thready." He pulled the plugs from his ears, draping the cord around his neck before pulling up Reid's shirt. He expertly pressed his connected fingers down on various parts of the torso. "Abdomen is slightly distended. We need to go."

James nodded, understanding his colleague's urgency entirely. He laid the bag of saline on the side of the spinal board, whilst Gerard tightened the various stability straps, before counting to three. Together they stood and pulled the board up without difficulty and began to hurry towards the open back. "One of you can ride with us." James told the team.

"I'll go." Came JJ's quiet yet determined voice.

"Where are you taking him?" Hotch asked.

"The Kindred Hospital. 4801 East Sam Houston Parkway."

Hotch nodded. Their last sight consisted of JJ climbing into the back, the medic named James connecting various observation machines to Reid and then the doors were shut and the ambulance raced away, it's sirens blaring once more.

Eight minutes later, having travelled approximately four miles at a speed that could have anyone pulled over, the remaining four BAU members pulled into the hospital parking lot. Hotch marched up the information desk, flashing his credentials before he came to a halt. "Spencer Reid?"

"He's been taken to the second floor sir." A petite woman replied, clearly intimidated by the dark haired man's stern face. He thanked her quickly and the four individuals entered the elevator up to the second floor. As they exited they spotted JJ sitting down in a relative's room, still clutching the old satchel in her arms.

"Any news?" Rossi asked seriously.

She looked up and smiled sadly. She was shaken, the whole team were and if it wasn't for the slight smudge of mascara under her left eye they would never have known she had been crying. "They've just taken him for a scan a minute before you turned up."

Rossi took a seat, leant back and rubbed his eyes. Emily sat down next to JJ and took a hold of her hand, giving them both a little comfort. Morgan chose to continue to stand and paced up and down. Hotch sat next to the entrance and leant forward, resting his arms on his knees. Barely thirty seconds had passed before a breathless nurse came into the room. "Are any of you Mr Reid's next of kin?"

The team's eyes widened. Hotch stood. "No but I have power of attorney." He informed.

"Can you come with me sir. I need you to sign a surgery release form?"

"Of course." He followed her out of the room and crossed the short distance to the nurses' station where she quickly produced the form. "What is the surgery for?"

"Mr Reid has some internal bleeding and they need to operate to stop it before he enters a critical condition." The nurse told him the information with haste. Not wasting a second more Hotch grabbed the pen and signed. A moment later the double doors at the end of the corridor slammed open. Surrounded by a team of nurses, one doctor and a mass of tubes and wires lay Dr Spencer Reid on a gurney. Hotch pressed himself against the desk as the team rushed passed, the monitors wailing at the poor stats. "We have the go ahead Dr Smith."

"That's great. I wouldn't have waited a moment longer." He spoke over his shoulder just before he disappeared behind another set of doors.

Hotch sighed and headed back into the waiting room. Prentiss, JJ, Morgan and Rossi looked at him expectantly. "He has some internal bleeding and they have to operate to stop it. He isn't in a critical condition though." He sat back down. An uncomfortable silence descended on the room as they waited. There was nothing else they could do.

An hour later they were shaken from their dazes by the arrival of an exhausted looking Dr Smith. "Family of Dr Reid?"

Hotch resumed his role as leader and made the introductions. "How is he?" He asked tentatively. They couldn't help notice the splashes of blood on the man's green scrubs. The Doctor asked if he could take a seat. "Of course." Hotch sat down also.

"Due to the nature of his accident he sustained a ruptured spleen which was the cause of the internal bleeding. I had to perform a laparoscopic partial splenectomy and it appears to have solved the problem but I will have another scan booked for tomorrow just to make sure there is no further bleeding. Fortunately, he only lost one litre of blood which means that he didn't have to receive a blood transfusion. His body will be able to regenerate the blood that he did lose within the couple of weeks. Surprisingly, he sustained no other injury apart from a laceration to his forehead and some bruising to the right side of his body. Had his pelvis been broken, which is extremely common with a road traffic collision I wouldn't be here informing you of the good news." Dr Smith smiled reassuringly at them.

"When can we see him?" Rossi asked from his seat.

"He's in recovery at the moment and it will be around an hour before he is moved to a room but once he is I'll get a nurse to come and get you. Do you have any more questions?"

"Can I speak to you outside doctor?" Hotch asked, already exiting his seat. Dr Smith nodded and followed him out into the corridor. "Have you given him pain medication?"

Dr. Smith frowned at the seemingly imbecile question. "Of course I have." But realisation dawned on him. "Before his stats began to drop I did manage to have a brief read of his medical history. Is that what you're enquiry is about?"

Hotch nodded, relief flooding through him. That was one thing that Reid didn't need to go through again.

"I've got him on NSAID's, which are non-narcotic, at the moment but he'll be in a lot of pain when he comes round. I was going to ask you to overrule his request but I guess you aren't going to do that are you?" Dr Smith smiled despite himself.

"He would never forgive me. He's a strong one. He'll be fine." _I hope he will be. _

"Fine. I'll still be stressing the statistics with him in the morning of how refusing sufficient pain medication can hinder the healing process."

Now it was Hotch's turn to laugh. "I'm sure he'll enjoy that." He shook the other man's hand. "Thank you Dr. Smith."

Over an hour and half later they had all been in to see Reid. Thankfully the hospital had provided him with a private room which allowed the team to pile in all at once. However, due to his narcotic pain medication wishes Dr Smith had decided that it was best to keep him sedated until the following morning to allow his body time to come to terms with the trauma it had suffered. Therefore, when the team had entered the room their colleague and friend was sleeping peacefully. He still had the oxygen mask over his face and the bag of fluids still attached to his arm. They couldn't help but notice the blossoming bruises over his left eye and the now sutured cut.

"We should go. I hate the fact that this has happened but we can't forget the reason why we are in Pasadena in the first place. We need to sleep so we can be on top form to catch the unsub." Said Hotch in an authoritive tone.

"Someone should stay though." JJ argued.

"I'll stay with the kid." Rossi offered before anyone else had a chance to say a thing.

"Fine. Come on." He sheparded the rest of his less than happy team out of the room. Rossi caught his arm before he left.

"I'll sleep in the chair. I know if any of the others had stayed they wouldn't catch a wink." He smiled.

"Thanks Dave. Goodnight."


	5. Remembering Yesterday

_**Chapter Five**_

An overwhelming need to use the bathroom woke Spencer from his drug induced sleep. The first of his senses to return was that of touch. He could feel that he was lying down in a comfortable bed and the surrounding room held a lukewarm temperature which was pleasing as in the back of his mind he remembered that they were in the middle of a heat wave. His body ached and he could sense moderate pain radiating from his right hip and just below his ribcage on the opposite side. Part of his brain kicked in to overdrive then as he focused on the pain and felt that it was dulled somewhat and his head felt foggy, despite the pounding headache. His brow creased with concern as he concentrated on other details. He could feel uncomfortable plastic digging slightly into his cheeks, nose and chin and as his hearing came back he could hear the slight hiss of air swirling around his face. In the distance he could just about focus on voices but not their words. Struggling, he concentrated all of his efforts on opening his eyes. It took a little while as he fought against the thick fog but he eventually managed to do it. They fluttered for a moment before they opened and then squinted against the bright early morning light.

He looked around in confusion. _What am I doing here? _Technically, his brain fully comprehended where he was it just could not fathom the reason for being there. He took in the hospital room within milliseconds and then focused on the finer details. The annoying pressure on his face was an oxygen mask, which he proceeded to pull off immediately, not liking how claustrophobic it made him feel. He looked to his right arm where he saw a cannula inserted into the crook, just below the elbow, and followed the tube connected to it up to a half empty bag of saline. There was nobody else in the room with him but he could tell that somebody had been there recently and had been for a long time. An uncomfortable looking chair, the kind that looked like its entire being was made from plastic, had been pulled close to the bed and Spencer could still see the impression of someone's form imprinted in the cushioned seat. With a cursory glance, at the nightstand, to his left told him that David Rossi had spent quite some time in this room with him. The book the Italian had only just started to read on the journey to Pasadena was laid face down on the old wood.

Mother Nature intensified her call and against his better judgement Reid decided that it was time that he answered it. Pushing himself up, from the half sitting position he was in, using his arm he sat up. He hissed as his abdomen flared in pain and he mentally cursed himself. _The laws of survival instinct dictate that you asses for injury first and foremost, you know this Spencer! _He agreed with his mental castigation as he had gone through the correct motions when he had been taken by Tobias. He knew the situation was completely different here but he still should have checked. He took a moment to lift the front of the gown he was wearing away from himself and look down. He noted that he wore absolutely nothing underneath the gown which made his cheeks burn crimson but his eyes soon found the cause of his pain. On the left side of his body just under his ribcage lay three medium sized dressings. _Laparoscopic surgery? _His entire chest and abdomen was dotted with minor bruises and scrapes but his eyes widened as his eyes passed his right hip. Quite a large patch of his skin had bloomed a hideous looking dark blue colour.

His bladder screamed at him to move so he reasoned that it was best not to delay. He pushed the sheets off of himself and then swung his legs round. The pain grew worse slightly but it was something that he would just have to deal with. There was no way he was going to compromise his constant recovery just because he was in a little bit of pain. Remembering to put the majority of his weight onto his left leg he stood and gripped onto the metal stand that held the bag of saline. Slowly he moved forward, gritting his teeth with every right step, and entered through the door to the right of his bed which led to a private bathroom. On his way out he caught his reflection in the mirror and saw that his left eye was black and he had a neatly sutured cut just a fraction below his hair line. _That explains the headache. _He mused to himself. Upon shutting the door behind him a wave of dizziness overtook him. His vision blurred violently and he began to sway.

"Whoa, Reid?!" Came a voice to his right and he felt strong hands grip around his waist. "You okay man?"

His vision cleared enough for him to see Morgan's concerned expression looking at him but the pounding in his head increased enough to make him feel sick. "I'm fine." He mumbled and began to move back to the comfort that was the bed. He knew he wouldn't be able to stand for much longer.

As Reid turned to sit back down Morgan began to chuckle. Reid looked to him to explain. "I see London. I see France. I see Spencer has no underpants." And with that he almost doubled over laughing.

Reid just glared at him as he turned bright red once more. "Very mature Morgan." He sighed as he closed his and laid back against the pillows. Almost at once the pain subsided to a bearable amount.

"Sorry kid but that was just too easy." Morgan smiled as he wiped his eyes. He walked around the bed, picked up the coffee he had discarded as soon as he had saw his friend and sat down in the chair by the bed. He became serious once more as he took in his friends bruised face. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. I've had worse." He paused as another wave of sickness passed. "I'd feel a lot better if I knew what had happened though?" He said and quickly realised that he had said it aloud.

Morgan's brow creased deeply at the last comment. "You don't remember?" Spencer turned to look at him with a blank expression. Morgan's eyebrows raised slightly and he leant back in the chair. "Shoot kid, you must have hit your head harder than we thought. You seriously don't remember anything?"

"No." He said a little more bluntly than he had intended. He closed his eyes again as he tried to recall his last memory. "That last thing I remember is going to the library but I can't even remember what for. After that it's just a blur and darkness."

"Hmm. I've heard of this before, not very often but I have heard of it and Doctor Smith said you would have concussion." Morgan began.

"Retrograde amnesia?" Reid cut across him, a hint of panic in his voice.

"Yeah, that's the one."

"Fantastic." He grumbled sarcastically. In the depths of his mind the fear of not having complete control of his mind was awoken. Of course, he knew that there was a high probability of his memories returning but there could never be a time frame attached to circumstances like this.

As if Morgan could sense his worry he reassured him. "It'll come back to you eventually Spencer. There's only so much that I can tell you but do you want me to fill you in?" Reid gave a slight nod of the head so Morgan continued. "I suppose I should start with last night. Hotch called it a day and I called your cell. You were just leaving the library to head back to the station when you picked up. Anyway, long story short, your words were cut short and in the background I heard a car speeding off. You were involved in a hit and run Reid. You were brought to The Kindred Hospital. They had to remove a part of your spleen as you were bleeding internally from the impact. Apart from the other stuff you can see that's about it." He rubbed his forehead trying to forget the emotions that had ran through the whole team the previous night. "You do this to me far too often kid."

Reid just laid there stunned. He didn't know what to say. _A hit and run? How could I have been that stupid? The layout of the roads and the library car park are simple. All I had to do was look left and right and I could have seen any oncoming traffic regardless of its speed. How did I miss that? _Similar thoughts ran through his mind on repeat in mere seconds. What Morgan had told him about his injuries had been corroborated with what he did see. The three dressings on his abdomen and Morgan's words had confirmed what he had previously thought. The rest was fairly plain to see. He felt great frustration at the fact that his memory's eluded him. He knew they were right there on the cusp of his mind but he could simply not call them forward. "What did they give me?" The question appeared to come out of nowhere but Reid had to know what was causing the fog in his head and the dulling of his pain.

"Hotch spoke with Doctor Smith last night whilst we were waiting for you to be moved to a private room. He thought it best that after your surgery you were kept sedated until this morning to give your body time to rest." Reid frowned at this point not liking the course of action taken. "As for pain medication you're on NSAID's and apparently he isn't very happy about that fact."

Reid was about to speak but movement in the doorway caught both men's attention. "You're right about that Agent Morgan. I'm not happy at all." Reid looked over at the new arrival and knew a lot about him in mere seconds. He had dark, short cropped hair and was easily taller than himself. His well-built form held a great amount of confidence, which showed as he strode forward toward the end of the bed to pick up Reid's chart. However, as he made his way over Reid noted that he walked with a slight limp much like his own. _An old injury or birth defect? _He thought to himself quickly. The man's nails were neatly manicured, which suggested he didn't suffer from a tick, and that coupled with his obviously moisturised face told Reid that he liked to take care of his appearance. Right at this moment in time that wrinkle free face wore a look of slight annoyance. The doctor put the chart back down in its holder and looked up to regard the two men. "I was wondering if I might have a few moments in private with Dr Reid Agent Morgan."

Morgan took his cue to leave. He picked up his coffee and smiled. "Sure. I have to make a call to my Unit Chief anyway." He gave Reid one last look. "I'll be back soon kid."

_**Okay so I took way too much time to update this for you guys and I am sorry about that, I really am. Now I know this is sort of a filler chapter but I thought it was important to explain everything thoroughly. However, the plot thickens, eh?**_

_**Hopefully I will have the next chapter up within the next week.**_

_**Thank you everyone for reading. Reviews are welcome =D x**_


	6. Compos Mentis

_**Chapter Six**_

Morgan sighed as he pulled his SUV back into the hospital parking lot. Just as he was leaving Reid's room Doctor Smith had remembered to inform him that Reid would be taken for a second scan to check that the bleeding from his spleen had completely stopped, therefore he would not be back for a while. That had suited him just fine, as it gave him plenty time to get back to the hotel and grab some clothes for his friend. As much as he enjoyed teasing Reid he knew that he was an overtly private person and would appreciate being out of the hospital gown and in something a little more familiar.

As soon as he hit the road he used the hands free system that Garcia had set up in all of the SUV's to call Hotch and update him on the situation. All he had to do was say his boss' name and system recognised the word and put the call through immediately.

_"Hotchner." Came his boss' serious tones. Morgan remembered that his voice has lost it's edge that it had gained the night before. _

_"Hey Hotch, it's Morgan." He had answered and before he could say anything else Hotch interjected. _

_"How is he?" A tinge more emotion had made itself known in his voice._

_"Well considering what's happened he's doing good, looks like crap but I think he's good. He's pretty irritable at the minute though but then again that could be the coffee withdrawal." He tried to joke whilst simultaneously skirting around the main issue. "Doctor Smith came in to talk to him so I left to go and grab Reid some clothes."_

_"What aren't you telling me Morgan?" Hotch almost demanded. That man never missed a beat, Morgan had thought at the time. _

_Damn profilers, he had cursed the situation rather than Hotch himself. Just once he wished he could get away with hiding things. He needed to take some pointers from Reid who seemed to be the most adept at lieing through his teeth and getting away with it. "I only managed to speak with him for a couple of minutes but it wasn't great. It must be a complication of the concussion but the kid can't remember anything between going to the library and waking up this morning."_

_Hotch had sighed heavily after cursing. "That makes it damn near impossible to identify who did this to him then."_

_He frowned. "How so?"_

_"Before I go any further I think you should call Garcia after this. She wasn't exactly amused that nobody had called her last night to inform her what had happened." That first sentence had been enough to send the fear of God through him. However, overriding the fear of Garcia's wrath was the immense shame he felt at not calling one of the most important women in his life. He would have a lot of making up to do with her. Before he could think of ways to say sorry Hotch continued. "I had her check the footage from the security surrounding the library, the police department and even the main road. Every single camera was out for around five hours. They didn't even catch Reid going into the library initially and as he can't remember anything we don't have any scrap of information to go on." _

_Rather than cursing himself, he tried to look at the other options that remained open to them. "Have his clothe come back from processing? Surely taking a hit that hard would have dislodged some paint." He phished. _

_"I checked first thing and they had nothing new to give me. However, they told me to expect the results within the next few hours. Look, we'll worry about the fine details later, we have an unsub to catch and Reid needs to rest and recover. Spend an hour or so more at the hospital but I'll need you back at the station. We need as many minds on this one as we can. Something just doesn't feel right." Hotch paused as Morgan agreed with him. "And Morgan?"_

_"Yeah?" _

_"Call Garcia. I'm sure you'll be able to smooth things over with her." Morgan heard the relief in the voice on the other end of the line. Hell hath no fury like Garcia scorned, after all. _

_"Roger that." And he disconnected the call. He had waited until he had pulled up before putting through a call to Garcia. For this he disconnected his phone from the car and held it close to his ear. This was personal. It took an unusual five rings to connect. _

_"Peneolpe Garcia." _

_This isn't going to go well, he thought to himself as he noted the sadness in her voice. "Hey, how's my baby girl?" He said trying to force the nervousness out of his voice. _

_"Don't you dare baby girl me, Derek Morgan!" She shrilled, making him pull the handset away from his ear. "How could you not tell me?"_

_"What can I say Garcia? We were all exhausted last night. I was gonna call you as soon as we got back but I fell asleep." He explained quickly. "You know that beside my mom and my sisters you are the most important woman in my life and I would never deliberately leave you out, I promise you that. I'm sorry."_

_There was only silence on the other end. "I understand. I'm just worried." She sighed. "How is he?"_

_"He's banged up and he's obviously in pain but he'll recover soon enough. He can't remember anything about the accident though."_

_"I'm going to say that I'm thankful for the little things, like the fact that he is alive." She tried to lighten the mood but there was still tension in her voice. "He isn't going to take the memory blanks well, is he?"_

_"I don't baby girl but he didn't seem to bad when I left him." He smiled. He was truly thankful to have this woman in his life. "Listen, I'm outside of the hotel now to pick some things up for him. What do you say I grab a laptop and you can set up a video link and talk to him yourself?"_

_"You my chocolate Adonis could give our resident genius a run for his money." She giggled. "That would be great, thank you."_

_"Ok sexy mama I'll speak to you soon." He ended the call and entered the hotel. He had located Reid's go bag soon enough and quickly showered, deciding that he would have enough time. Fifteen minutes later he was back in his vehicle and starting the engine up. _

Unfortunately, he had been caught up in the rush our traffic. The population of Pasadena were on their way to their day jobs. After a forty minute drive her found himself pulling into the exact same parking space he had been in earlier. He reached behind and pulled the black go bag forwards and grabbed the long strap of the battered old satchel. JJ had left it in the car the previous night. He slung the satchel over his shoulder and carried the other bag by its handles. He wiped sweat from his forehead. _Great, today is shaping up to be as hot as yesterday. _However, it wasn't long before he was walking the blissfully cool corridors of the hospital. As he neared his friend's room he heard raised voices. He paused and listened.

"You are being deliberately detrimental to your own health Mr. Reid." Came Doctor Smith's measured tones. Morgan could tell he was having a hard time holding back. "I can overturn your decision if I see fit."

Reid snorted. "Firstly, it's Doctor Reid." Morgan gulped. _He must really be angry, he never pulls rank like that. _"And secondly, if you see fit? I assume you are referring to whether I'm mentally capable to make that decision. I believe your argument is void by the fact that I can hold a perfectly intellectual debate with you on the matter. I would also like to remind you _doctor _that you have sworn the Hippocratic oath." As his tirade continued his tone of voice rose a few decibels higher. "I know my body well enough to know that taking anything but NSAID's will do more harm than good!"

There was a pause before a reply came through gritted teeth. "I'll come back later when you've calmed down _Dr. Reid._" Doctor Smith exited the room with a face like thunder. "Agent Morgan." He acknowledged as he stormed past.

Derek frowned and decided to try his luck with Reid. It wasn't like his friend to lose his temper so violently. "What was that about?" He enquired as he bent down to stow away the bags just under the bed. He completely missed the sudden paleness his friend's skin taken and the way he clutched his head in pain. Morgan's head snapped up as soon as he heard vomiting. "Whoa are you okay? Do you need me to go and get someone?"

Reid placed the bowl down on the side table and lay back down against the pillows looking absolutely spent. "I'm fine. Just a headache."

Once he was sure that Reid was as he said he was he sat down in the chair and pulled it closer to the bed. "Care to explain what that was with the doc?"

"Speaking to me like I'm five years old." He sighed and closed his eyes. "He was trying to make me change my mind about the pain medication. I shouldn't have yelled at him like that but he just wouldn't listen to me."

"Would it be so bad?" Morgan broached the subject carefully. "I mean it would make you more comfortable for a start."

Reid turned his head and looked at him with weary eyes. "Morgan, I appreciate your concern but if I had been an alcoholic would you say to me: _Have one sip of brandy, just to take the edge off?"_ He reasoned. "I know I'm not strong enough to fight it a second time."

"I get it Kid, I do." He surrendered holding his hands up. "I just, we all hate seeing you like this."

"You're getting soppy in your old age Morgan." Reid closed his eyes once more but he was smiling.

Morgan chuckled and suddenly his cell phone buzzed, indicating he had a message. He unlocked the screen to see that it was from Hotch: **Change of plan. Get back to the station as soon as you can. Another body has been found. **

_**Sorry everyone but I've had A LOT going on believe me. And I also apologize that this is indeed a filler chapter but things should start moving from now on. I love the support you guys give me. tannerrose05 your reviews put a much needed smile on my face. **_


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